LONDON, Ont. - Following a 70-57 home loss which dropped the team to a 1-11 record on the season this past weekend against Brock, the Western women's basketball team will be looking to get their new year back on track with a pair of games against the Algoma Thunderbirds this Friday and Saturday in Alumni Hall.
The Mustangs kicked off the second half of their season against the Badgers at home this past Saturday and, throughout the first quarter, looked rejuvenated to begin the new year, controlling most of the opening frame. However, fatigue eventually set in once again to the young and injury-ridden roster, as Brock dominated the second quarter with a large scoring run and continued their momentum into the third.
The Mustangs rallied to cut down the deficit in the fourth behind the scoring display of second-year Emma Johnson, but the effort proved to be too little, too late for the purple and white as the Badgers cruised to the 13-point victory and an improved 5-7 record.
But Western will be hoping to put the loss behind them heading into this weekend against Algoma, a program the purple and white have had success against historically. The Mustangs have an 8-1 record against the Thunderbirds throughout their last nine regular season meetings, sweeping the season series against them last year by a wide margin.
However, Algoma's basketball program has continued to grow over the years and this season has proven to be promising thus far for the Thunderbirds, as they currently sit at a 4-8 record to this point in the season, good enough for fifth-place in the OUA West division standings.
After years of struggling to find an identity in their play style, Algoma has finally found their calling card and, so far, it's been their impressive shooting from beyond the arc, an area which the Mustangs have struggled to defend against mightily.
The Thunderbirds sit second in the OUA in three-point attempts per game with an incredible 24.7 and rank fourth in the province in three-pointers made per game with 7.0. This ability to shoot the ball could indeed prove dangerous against a Western defence that's allows opponents to shoot 39.0% from beyond the arc, sitting last in the province in long-range defence.
On offence, Western will once again look to fourth-year guard Laura Graham to orchestrate the scoring and facilitate for others, as she's done all season long. With injuries sidelining teammates Maddy Horst and Julia Curran for much of the season, Graham has been left to lead this young Mustang roster for the remainder of the season and has done an admirable job thus far.
Graham currently sits third in the OUA in minutes per game, despite a number of minor injuries, and has consistently been given the most challenging defensive assignments throughout the season. This weekend, Graham and the rest of the Mustangs will be forced to go up against yet another challenging assignment in Algoma's Dionne Martin.
To this point in the season, Martin has averaged 12.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game in limited minutes, helping to lead the Thunderbirds on both ends of the floor. Martin has also helped spread the floor for Algoma behind the arc and plays a pivotal role in allowing the team to play a unique five-out offence with ideal spacing.
Despite an impressive historical record against the Thunderbirds' program, Western will undoubtedly be up against a challenging Algoma team this time around. The Thunderbirds are hungry to finally capture playoff positioning and a pair of victories would go a long way to cementing that position. Western's young prospects have certainly improved over the past few games, but yet another step forward will be required if they hope to come out of this weekend with a victory.
